5 Adult, Low Calorie Mocktails for Dry January

When the new year starts, many feel they could use a few weeks off-booze and a break from extensive meals. And to make keeping up with these resolutions a little easier, how about mixing some proper, grown-up mocktails instead?

The first month of the year usually is when we reflect on our habits and how they might affect our health. And it certainly makes sense for everybody to do that at least once a year. The term Dry January lately has become the synonym for that.

Basically, "Dry January" is known in Europe and North America since the British Government joined a health campaign introduced by the charity group called Alcohol Change UK in 2014. 

And for those planning to join this movement, we have some fabulous mocktails that will get you through Dry January. And the best thing is, they are also low in calories to fit into a potential New-Year's-resolution-diet-plan.

Moscow Mule Mocktail

The Moscow Mule is a combination of Vodka and Ginger Beer, famously served in a copper mug. By replacing the Vodka with soda water, you can turn it into a delicious, easy-to-make mocktail. 

And because the question came up before: for those unfamiliar with Ginger Beer, it is a sweet and spicy alcohol-free beverage despite the name suggesting otherwise. It used to contain around 11% alcohol, hence the name. But, these days, the regular version is non-alcoholic.

Ingredients
3oz Ginger Beer
0.25oz lime juice
1.5oz soda water
lime wheel and mint for garnish

Fill a Moscow Mule mug 2/3 with crushed ice, add Ginger Beer, lime juice, and soda water. Now gently stir for a few seconds and garnish with the lime wheel and the mint leaves.

kcal/1.5oz: 13
avg. serving size: 4.75oz
kcal/serving: 41

VirGin Basil Smash

The VirGin Basil Smash is the sober brother of the Gin Basil Smash. That is a refreshing composition from one of the top German bartenders, Jörg Meyer. 

You can recreate this beauty by replacing Gin with a non-alcoholic Gin version. If you don't know what it is or which one to buy, you can read everything you need to know about alcohol-free Gin here. 

Ingredients 
12 fresh basil leaves
2oz Non-alcoholic Gin
1oz Freshly squeezed lemon juice 
0.25oz Rich simple syrup
one sprig of mint for garnish

Gently muddle the basil leaves in a shaker, then add plenty of ice and all remaining ingredients. Now shake until the content is well-chilled, then strain over ice into your cocktail glass. Garnish with the mint sprig.

kcal/1.5oz: 5
avg. serving size: 4.75oz
kcal/serving: 16

Shirley Temple

The Shirley Temple Mocktail is one of the first known and most recognized mocktail recipes. Shirley Temple was a Hollywood child actress in the 1930s and later turned into politics. 

She famously asked for "a non-alcoholic drink that would make her feel fancy, too", as she was a committed non-drinker.

Because it's so iconic, it's almost impossible to write about mocktails without mentioning it. So here's we go:

Ingredients
0.75oz Zero-sugar grenadine, e.g., from Teisseire
1oz Lime juice
5oz Ginger Ale
1 Maraschino Cherry for garnish

Fill a long drink glass 2/3 with ice, add grenadine and lime juice, then top it off with ginger ale. Place the Maraschino Cherry on top, and cheers!

kcal/1.5oz: 15
avg. serving size: 5.75oz
kcal/serving: 58

Naked Whiskey Sour

Our alcohol-free Whiskey Sour uses a Whiskey imitation and stays as close to the original Whiskey Sour as possible. 

That makes it an especially beautiful and authentic mocktail. The recipe also includes Angostura bitters. This ingredient actually has 44%ABV, but we use such an insignificant amount, so the drink is still non-alcoholic. 

Bitters give this drink an even more grown-up feeling. But if adding them makes you feel uncomfortable, leave it off. 

Ingredients
2oz non-alcoholic Whiskey
1oz lemon juice
0.25oz simple syrup
2 tbsp of Aquafaba
one dash of Angostura bitters

Add the zero-proof Whiskey, lemon juice, syrup, and aquafaba to your cocktail shaker. Shake for 15 seconds without ice (Dry-Shake) and then add ice and shake for another 15 seconds.

Strain over ice into your glass and add bitters (optional).

kcal/1.5oz: 12
avg. serving size: 4.25oz
kcal/serving: 35

Virgin Cosmo

The Cosmopolitan is a classy and elegant drink. And you can make the virgin version just as sophisticated. Sipping your mocktail out of a Martini glass alone supports that feel of an adult drink. 

And filling it up with a beautiful mix of cranberries, lime juice, orange flavor, and a bitter aperitif makes it even better.

Ingredients
3.5oz unsweetened cranberry juice
0.75oz lime juice
0.35oz orange syrup
0.35oz alcohol-free bitter aperitif, e.g., Monin
orange peel for garnish

Put all ingredients except the peel into your shaker, add ice and shake until the content is well-chilled. Now strain over ice in a Martini glass and garnish with the orange peel.

kcal/1.5oz: 24
avg. serving size: 5oz
kcal/serving: 82